Christoph Waltz to star in Muppets sequel

The 56-year-old actor is in discussions to play one of the major human roles alongside the lovable puppets in the movie - the follow-up to the hugely successful 2011 film.

Waltz's proposed character is an Interpol inspector who follows Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear, Beaker and the rest of the gang across Europe where the story is set.

Other main human roles include a Russian femme fatale and a mysterious male lead whose motives cause the Muppets concern. No other plot details have been released yet.

James Bobin - the director of the first film - is returning to helm the sequel and he also co-wrote the script with Nick Stoller, who co-created the original movie's script with Jason Segel, who also starred in it.

Waltz recently signed up to play former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 'Reykjavik' - a film which will explore the end of the Cold War and specifically the meeting between US President Ronald Reagan and Gorbachev in the Icelandic capital in 1986.

Austrian-born Waltz has a number of pictures lined up for release later this year and early 2013, including 'Django Unchained', 'Epic' and 'The Zero Theorem'.